I guess this is somewhat related, in as much as it involves a conundrum faced by parents who are flying solo - either temporarily or permamently.
In short, I was hospitalized. And here's the scoop:
On Tuesday evening (three nights ago, now), after the kids had gone to bed, I finished up some ironing and then sat at my computer to do a bit of work. I started to notice a very strange pain in my throat. Not the kind of scratch throat one gets when one is coming down with a cold, nor the type that I have felt when experiencing a bit of reflux. This was entirely different. It felt like the back of my throat was being poked, and the pain started to travel down my left arm and the left side of my chest.
Now, I'm no hypochondriac. Just the opposite: I'm a busy mom, and I tend to either ignore or rationalize most symptoms of any ailment that comes my way. But this was different. It was a weird and annoying sensation that refused to be ignored.
Rather than panicking, I did what any other reasonable person would do: I Googled the symptoms. And, I was not terribly surprised to learn that these could in fact be symptoms of a heart attack.
Now, I know what you are thinking. "Heart attack? You weigh 5 pounds, for crying out loud!" I agree. And that is what I kept telling myself as I simultaneously tried to think about how to call 911 and/or get to an emergency room without disrupting the kids' sleep too much.
Only later were my initial hunches confirmed: that I have plenty of friends who would have been MORE than willing to be woken up at midnight, come over, and hang with the kids so that I could get checked out. But, no. I didn't want to wake anyone up. At that moment, I was simply too embarrassed, and willed the feeling to go away. Which it did, after a while. I resolved to call my internist the next morning.
Come Wednesday morning, the pain was pretty much gone but I still felt sore and felt like a had a touch of heartburn - another red flag. I got the kids to school, texted my internist, and he got me in to see the nurse practitioner at his office in Upland. Upon arrival, I met the incredible and lovely Liz Cano, Nurse Practitioner. She ordered some lab work and an chest film and was working on getting me a referral to a cardiologist in the area. I proceeded over to the imaging center near their office but before I left, Liz insisted that if my symptoms come back, I go immediately to the ER.
In the waiting room of the imaging center, packed to the gills with 100 of my closest and newest friends, I started to feel that awkward feeling in my throat.
I tried to ignore it.
It mocked me.
I kept ignoring it.
It crept down my neck and back.
I gave up. I went to the front desk, told the very nice male receptionist that my symptoms had returned and that I was going straight to the ER. He kindly pulled my paperwork, to make sure I would not get billed for an xray I did not get, and sent me on my way.
After a few fits and starts, I found Mt San Antonio Medical Center, and dropped my car off with the very nice valet attendant. Valet parking at a hospital - who knew, right?
From there, things moved pretty quickly. I'd already alerted the key people at Foothill to let them know that I was in for some tests to figure out what was up with the chest pain, and once I got to ER, Glen started to make plans to fly down that afternoon. At this point, I started notifying the troops: Foothill parents, neighbors, and Claremont friends. I was humbled in being reminded by how many amazing and wonderful people are in our lives. But, more on this in a moment ...
In total, I had two EKGs, an echocardiogram, and two different 3D images of my heart (one at rest and one after a stress test), using a radioactive isotope to make it glow. As if I am not already glowing enough. I was introduced to the lovely, and I mean lovely, Dr. Padmini Tummala, a cardiologist at this hospital, recommended highly by my internist (who, in full disclosure, is an old Webb friend of mine). Turns out the good Dr. Tummala has a son who just graduated from Foothill and is now at Webb, which explained why we both thought the other looked strangely familiar.
The echocardiogram coincidentally showed that I have an opening between my left and right ventricles. This opening exists when a baby is developing in the womb, but usually closes by the time a kid is one year old. About 30-40% of people never have theirs closed. I am one of them. But this did not explain the chest and throat discomfort (but could explain my history of migraines, but that's another story).
Ultimately, we are not entirely sure what was up with my throat and such, but I am very pleased to report that my heart is healthy and good (with just a little gap). Most likely, the pain I had can be partially explained by reflux coupled with muscle soreness (and a bit of arthritis in my neck, as found on an x-ray - again, who knew?) coupled with copious amounts of good old- fashioned stress.
I am home, I am safe, and I am grateful.
